


Tae.Min012

by gusulanbaby (bigleosis)



Category: EXO (Band), SHINee
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Amnesia, Dancer Kim Jongin, Enhanced DNA, Enhanced Lee Taemin, Experiment Lee Taemin, Human Kim Jongin, Kim Jongin is soft for Lee Taemin, M/M, Memory Loss, Mention of Byun Baekhyun, Not Beta Read, Taemin is not complete human, caring Kim Jongin, metion of Mark Lee, otherwise it's soft and fluffy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-13
Updated: 2020-06-13
Packaged: 2021-03-03 20:55:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,157
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24701902
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bigleosis/pseuds/gusulanbaby
Summary: “Taemin.”The sudden voice behind him startled Jongin so hard, that he nearly dropped the plate and forks he had been getting from the shelf. He turned around to see the stranger standing in the door of the kitchen, one of the soft blankets from the sofa tightly wrapped around his shoulders.“Huh?” he asked, eyebrows raised and his heart beating rapidly in his chest.“Taemin,” the other repeated. “My name.”Oh! Jongin placed the plate down and gave a smile to the other man.“Hello Taemin,” he said. “Nice to meet you.” Jongin picked up the forks and held them out to Taemin. “Would you take them to the couch with you? You shouldn't be up and I´ll be with you in a few moments with the food, yeah?”
Relationships: Kim Jongin | Kai/Lee Taemin
Comments: 4
Kudos: 37





	Tae.Min012

**Author's Note:**

> tw for vomiting & scars (no selfharm!!)

**Tae.Min012**

The day had been utterly long for Jongin. The dance training had been exhausting and the shift at his sisters´ little cafe had been long too. His feet and legs hurt from dance training, he felt the beginning of a headache behind his right eye, which he hoped wouldn´t turn into a migraine and he was hungry. All he wanted to do right now was to go home, taking a hot shower, grab something to eat and go to sleep.  
Before the whole schedule started again tomorrow.

Jongin was halfway home when it started to rain. The clouds had been heavy with it all day long and of course, it was his luck to get into a heavy downpour. He pulled his jacket closer around himself and tried to shield himself from the falling droplets with his backpack, which didn't have much effect and he was drenched in no time.  
By the time he reached his apartment block, Jongin was dripping and freezing. As Autumn was slowly turning into Winter, the temperatures at night had been falling steadily below zero for the last week and it was getting considerably colder.  
Jongin ran up the stairs to his flat instead of using the elevator to get warm again, taking two steps at a time. He didn't watch his way as he was searching for the keys to his flat and nearly dripped over something, someone, when he took the last step. With a lot of hopping and flailing Jongin avoided crashing to the floor and he already had a snarky comment on his lips as he turned around when he saw a figure lying on the ground.

The person was curled into themself, their chest heaving with hard breaths and they were as drenched as Jongin was. For a moment Jongin considered to ignore them. Probably one of the homeless persons lurking around the streets who slipped into the building to seek shelter from the rainstorm. But he always had been too good, to caring as his sister always told him, and he simply couldn't ignore the person on the floor.  
Jongin walked back to the curled bundle and went down to his knees, reaching out and turning them around so he could look at their face. Jongin took a deep breath when he saw his face. Obviously, it was a guy, but Jongin had never seen someone as beautiful as him. With his soft but also very sharp features. Dark lashes fanning out on his cheeks and very pretty (kissable) lips. Jongin poked him in the cheek to get some kind of reaction from the other man, but nothing happened. Jongin´s brows knitted in confusion and he let his hand move over the other guys’ cheeks up to his forehead.  
He was burning.

Jongin swore under his breath and cursed his luck. He couldn't let the guy lie here when he was running a fever, he would probably die and that would be his fault then because he had ignored him. Muttering to himself, Jongin finally pulled out his keys, shouldered his backpack before he put one arm of the other guy around his neck and lifted him up and carried him to his door. He needed a few attempts before he could open the door, the others body a dead weight against his. Inside he turned on the lights and brought him over to the small couch where Jongin put him down. As fast as he could Jongin got rid of his backpack, his drenched jacket and shoes and returned to the stranger. He stared at him for a moment, trying to think of what to do next.  
The guy was just as wet as he was and he was already having a fever, so it would probably be the best to get him out of his wet clothes and into something dry. Jongin nodded to himself before he went to his bedroom to get dry clothes and some towels. He changed into something dry himself before he went back to the living room. With a sigh, he lifted the stranger back up and started to remove his black hoodie, which revealed a mop of blue hair which suited him surprisingly well. Jongin threw the soaking piece of fabric to the floor and removed the flimsy dark shirt next. He took a sharp breath when he saw the scars covering the stranger’s chest. That wasn't normal and a suspicious feeling started to rise within his mind. Maybe it hadn't been a very clever idea to take the guy with him? Maybe he should change him, dry him off and put him back outside?  
Jongin shook his head. He couldn't do that and the guy really didn't look like a normal junkie. So he continued with getting rid of his clothes and to get off these skinny jeans was a real struggle. How the hell had the guy been able to get into them in the first place??? With a loud huff, he was able to pull them off the guys’ legs and threw them on the pile with the other clothes. Jongin wouldn't touch the guys’ briefs and so he towelled him off quickly before he put back clothes on him. The sweatpants and shirt were way too big on him, but Jongin couldn't help it right now. He laid the guy back on the couch and covered him beneath one of the blankets he had placed over the backrest.

With a sigh Jongin rose from the ground, grabbing the soaking clothes, went back to his bedroom getting his own and went to the bathroom to throw them into the dryer. He searched for some painkillers in his cabinet to give them to the stranger. He heard a groan coming from the sofa when he was on his way to the kitchen.  
Jongin immediately made a beeline for the sofa and looked down on the guy who blinked open his eyes slowly, a hand covering his eyes. His very blue eyes that nearly matched the colour of his hair. Jongin felt a warm feeling spread through his stomach and he cleared his throat, which startled the other man.

“Uhm, hello,” Jongin said quietly. “I … my name´s Kim Jongin. I found you lying outside on the floor. You were drenched and you have a fever, so I took you in and got you changed. Your stuff is in the dryer right now. You should probably get some rest and take two of these.” He held up the bottle with the pills. “What's your name?”

The stranger was staring at him now, blue eyes fixed on Jongin, his brows knitted in confusion and his eyes held something Jongin wasn't able to pinpoint. He seemed to be wary of him, which was understandable, given the situation.

“I … get you something to drink,” Jongin said to break the lingering silence between them and walked away into the kitchen.

Jongin felt unsettled, he could feel the blue eyes trained on his back and he tried to ignore them as best as he could for now. He needed to get something out of the guy, at least his name so he could try to contact his family or friends or whatever.  
Jongin filled a glass with water and when he walked past the fridge his stomach reminded him gladly that he hadn't been eating yet. With a small sigh, he walked back to the living room and placed the glass and the bottle with meds on the table there. Careful, not to startle the stranger on his sofa Jongin kept his distance.

He pointed at the two things. “You probably should take them, to lower your fever. Are … are you hungry?” The stranger gave a curt nod and Jongin nodded in return. “Okay. Okay, good. Anything you don't like?” A shake of his head, another nod from Jongin. “I´ll be in the kitchen. Just try to get some rest, okay?”

He didn't wait for an answer, just turned around and walked away. There was a strange, unnamable feeling coursing through Jongin´s body. He wondered why the man didn't talk to him, because he clearly understood what he was saying. Maybe he had lost his voice in the past? Should he get some pen and paper so they could communicate? Or maybe the stranger simply didn't want to talk to Jongin? That was also a very plausible possibility but somehow it made him sad. He would have loved to get to know him. At least he didn't seem to have some intentions of hurting Jongin. Not yet.  
Mumbling to himself under his breath he pulled all things from his fridge so he could make some veggie-omelette for him and his guest. It wasn't much, Jongin knew that, but it was the best he could do at the moment. He would have to go grocery shopping tomorrow if he wanted to provide food for him and the stranger. Also when he couldn´t be sure that the other man would be around anymore.

Jongin cut the veggies in small pieces before he started to whisk the eggs and added some sparkling water to make it extra fluffy. He placed a pan on the stove and started to heat it up. Jongin waited patiently until it had the right temperature, turned the heat down and then he poured the egg into it. It took some time for the omelette to solidify and he added the veggies to it before he turned it around to fry the other side.

“Taemin.”

The sudden voice behind him startled Jongin so hard, that he nearly dropped the plate and forks he had been getting from the shelf. He turned around to see the stranger standing in the door of the kitchen, one of the soft blankets from the sofa tightly wrapped around his shoulders.

“Huh?” he asked, eyebrows raised and his heart beating rapidly in his chest.

“Taemin,” the other repeated. “My name.”

Oh! Jongin placed the plate down and gave a smile to the other man.

“Hello Taemin,” he said. “Nice to meet you.” Jongin picked up the forks and held them out to Taemin. “Would you take them to the couch with you? You shouldn't be up and I´ll be with you in a few moments with the food, yeah?”

Taemin freed one hand from the blanket and took the forks from Jongin before he turned around and walked back to the living room. Jongin let out a small huff. At least he had a name to the man now. He pulled the pan from the stove and folded the omelette like his sister had shown him and let it glide on the plate. He checked if everything was turned off before he walked to the living room himself and sat down next to Taemin, who still gave him a suspicious look.  
Jongin picked up one of the forks and took the first piece from their dinner.

“Eat,” he encouraged Taemin.

The other man gave one last side glance at Jongin before he ate the first bite. His eyes closed for a moment and a small hum left his lips. Jongin pushed the plate a bit in his direction and after a short hesitation, Taemin started to devour the food like he had been starving.  
Jongin had time to take in his appearance now and he didn´t look like one of those homeless people he saw every day on his way to the studio. He seemed to be well-fed and he looked alright, clean and nicely dressed.

“Hey Taemin, can I ask you a few questions?”

The blue-haired man looked up at him with puffy cheeks, stuffed with food. He nodded slowly and swallowed.

“Where do you come from? And how old are you? Do you have any family or friends you would like to contact?”

Taemin seemed to think about it for a moment, brows knitted in confusion, his eyes clouding over when he placed down the fork, looking at Jongin.

“I … I don´t know?” More a question then and he looked very lost.

“Did someone hurt you?” He had no visible injuries, aside from the scars on his chest. Jongin had checked when he changed his clothes.

Again Taemin shook his head and a small “I don´t know” fell from his lips. Jongin felt a pang in his chest.

“Hmm,” Jongin hummed and ate some of the omelette that Taemin had left. “I … you can stay here until you get better if you want. Maybe you start to remember after a good night´s sleep.”

Taemin was probably just tired and the fever was messing with his head. Tomorrow he surely would have more memories. Jongin picked up the empty plate and got up himself to get it to the kitchen and head to bed himself.

“I … thank you, Jongin.”

A smile spread over his face as the other used his name for the first time. “You are welcome. Now sleep.”

**-*-**

Taemin didn´t get back any of his memories over the next days and weeks.  
And Jongin wasn´t able to send him away. It was strange at first to share his flat with the other man, who was quieter than anyone Jongin knew. But Taemin was a fast learner and he adapted well to Jongin´s schedule. He learned how to cook and had food ready whenever Jongin came back from the dance studio or from a shift at his sistersˋ coffeeshop.  
After a while, Taemin even joined him and they discovered that he was good at dancing and that he really enjoyed it. From that day on he went with Jongin every time he went to the studio and they learned to work together on choreos.  
The other members never asked him who Taemin was and where he came from. They simply accepted him as Jongin´s friend. ´Boyfriend´ he had heard Baekhyun whisper to Mark at some point, and he didn´t correct them, because it was easier that way.

At night Taemin still slept on the couch, but sometimes he would wake up with a scream on his lips that startled Jongin awake and had him rushing into the living room, where he would find Taemin sitting on the sofa, back ramrod straight, panting heavily. Jongin would wrap him up in his arms, hugging him tightly, whispering soft nonsense into his ear while the other man tried to calm down.  
It happened on a regular basis and after a few weeks, Jongin tended to simply pick Taemin up and carry him to his bedroom, where he laid them down on his bed and waited until Taemin’s breath evened out and he fell back asleep, his head resting on Jongin’s shoulder and his arms tightly wrapped around Taemin’s middle. At one moment Taemin stopped to sleep in the living room and came to Jongin’s bed straight away. They would wake up wrapped around each other in the mornings, basking in the warmth of the other, trading soft kisses, hands discovering bodies, lips swallowing tiny needy sounds.

It was a rainy Sunday morning when Taemin woke up from another bad dream, his stomach turning with nausea and he leapt from the bed, running to the bathroom and emptying their dinner into the toilet. Jongin woke when he returned, recognising the faint peppermint scent in Taemin’s breath.

“You ‘kay?” Jongin mumbled against Taemin’s bare shoulder.

“I … no,” he answered and Jongin pushed himself up, his eyes finding Taemin’s.

He still hasn’t got used to the intensity of blue they had, but he loved them nonetheless. 

“What’s wrong, Taemini?” he asked, his fingers caressing the other’s cheek.

Taemin turned his head, pushing into Jongin’s palm. “I had another nightmare.”

Jongin took a deep breath before he pressed a kiss against Taemin’s forehead. “I am sorry,” he said softly.

Taemin wrapped his arms around Jongin’s neck and pulled him into a tight hug. “I remember,” he said and Jongin placed another kiss to Taemin’s chest. “But I fear you’ll hate me when I tell you.”

Jongin placed his hand on Taemin’s side, thumb brushing over the small scars there. “I could never hate you Taemini,” he stressed. “But you don’t have to tell me if you’re not ready for it. I won’t pressure you.”

Soft fingers played with his hair. Jongin could feel the rise of Taemin’s chest when he took a deep breath.

“You deserve the truth,” he said quietly. When Jongin tried to lift his head, Taemin pressed him back down. “Just … stay there, okay?” Jongin nodded. “I … I am not a normal human,” Taemin started. “I was created in a lab. Born and raised there with enhanced genetics, not able to feel emotions. I was trained to be a soldier. I was the first experiment, the one who should show if the work was effective if I could be trained to their needs, that I’d follow their orders blindly. But they failed and I started to show emotions while I became older. My … creator … she was a kind woman. She tried to protect me from the government who tried to make a weapon out of me. A murderer … She wasn’t able to get me to safety and they tried to wipe my mind, to get rid of my emotions, but I could free myself halfway through the process and I ran. As it seemed they succeeded with wiping my mind for a bit. I still don’t remember where I came from or if my … my creator is still alive.” Taemin took a shuddering breath, his fingers had stilled in Jongin’s hair. “All I know is that I don’t want to go back there. That I don’t want them to find me.” He let out a humourless laugh. “How could I anyway, after everything you showed me over the last months?” Taemin let go of Jongin’s hair, looking down at him. “I’d understand if you want me gone, Nini. And I’ll go if you want me to.”

Jongin pushed himself up again, a frown on his face. “I … I don’t want you to go,” he said with passion. “You might have been created to be a weapon. But I couldn’t care less. You aren’t like this. You, Taemini, are kind, strong-headed, lovely, passionate … one of the best dancers I’ve ever seen in my life.” Jongin placed his hand on Taemin’s cheek. “I can’t promise you that everything will be perfect for us. But I see you in my future. And I’ll do everything to protect you.”

Taemin gave a small smile. “You are far too trusting, Nini.”

“I might be,” he answered, thumb stroking over Taemin’s cheek. “That’s why I need you to look after me, so nothing bad can happen, yeah?”

Teamin’s fingers wrapped around Jongin’s wrist and he pulled his hand to his lips. “Yeah, okay. I can do that.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for atoricrash to allow me to use her hc <3


End file.
